Vision

Imagine a new performing arts center in Beaverton. A beautiful, contemporary, professionally-run center and a point of pride in Washington County. A welcoming place for diverse audiences, offering a wide variety of cultural and educational programming. A place for regional artists and arts groups and national touring programs. A well-known destination, busy throughout the week with opportunities for audiences of all ages to come together around the arts, enhancing the economic and cultural vitality of the region. The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is about celebrating our human need to create. To create our best selves. To create together.

About

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will be the first performing arts center of its kind to be built in the Portland-metro area in more than 30 years. The idea was first conceived in the late 90’s by then-City Councilor and now current Mayor of Beaverton Denny Doyle. After years of championing this dream and vision, Mayor Doyle found an ally and kindred spirit in local business leader and philanthropist Pat Reser.

The formal process of conceiving and planning the center began in 2004. Since then numerous feasibility studies, community surveys, and public meetings have consistently demonstrated community support for building an arts center in Beaverton. Today the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is a key component of the long-range Beaverton Community Vision Action Plan.

What it is

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will feature:

A 550-seat theatre

A spacious lobby for receptions and other events

Outdoor plaza for art exhibits, community festivals and other events

Rehearsal, workshop and meeting space

Art gallery to feature regional and traveling exhibits

Adjacent public parking structure

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will feature:

A home to local arts groups that have diminishing access to existing venues in the region

A showcase for the many cultural communities who today do not have access to a professional outlet for their artists and performers

A source for lifelong learning for all who seek new experiences, knowledge and cultural awareness

A space for some of the best in local, regional and national performers

A thought leader on the West Side, hosting and inspiring conversations around our cultural differences and similarities

A partner to businesses, schools, colleges, parks departments and other organizations to grow awareness and appreciation for the arts

This state-of-the-art, world-class multidisciplinary performing and visual arts center will serve as a catalyst for personal, cultural and economic growth, as well as increased civic pride and engagement. This vision truly has been built from the ground up; an intentional, cooperative effort between public/private project champions.

Location

The city of Beaverton lies at the center of the Metro Region’s West Side. In the heart of the city you’ll find the emerging Central District, adjacent to The Round with its popular mix of office space, condominiums, local restaurants and access to the MAX Blue Line. The Patricia Center for the Arts will be nestled adjacent to The Round, accompanied by a public parking structure and just steps away from light-rail transit.

People

The facility will be operated by professionally trained staff with volunteer support. An ongoing community input process will ensure programming remains relevant to all in the area.

Fundraising for the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is being led by the hard work and dedication of the Beaverton Arts Foundation staff and board and the Campaign Cabinet. The Cabinet is made up passionate volunteers leading the philanthropic efforts to secure the remaining funds needed to build this jewel in Washington County.

Gallery

Whythe Arts

Connects Our Diverse Community

Though our region is distinguished by the diversity of our people, we lack a public venue capable of knitting together our vibrant, global community. We don’t yet have a place to come together to learn, entertain and be entertained, challenge our assumptions, refresh our spirits, and tap into our deepest selves.

Diversity defines us, the Arts unite us.

Impacts the Next Generation

The arts supports achievement in school, bolsters skills demanded of a 21st century workforce, and enriches the lives of young people and communities. As our culture grows increasingly digital and technology-focused, the arts offer children a way to engage with the world around them through a human-centric lens.

*Preparing Students for the Next America: The Benefits of an Arts Education (2013)

Is an Economic Driver

The Patricia Reser Center for the Arts will help retain entertainment dollars otherwise spent by residents, tourists and visitors outside our area. In 2015 alone the nonprofit arts sector generated $21 million in total economic activity in Washington County.* A well-known arts and cultural destination busy throughout the week increases the vitality of the surrounding area, benefiting retail, restaurants, hotels and other local businesses.

*Arts and Economic Prosperity 5, Americans for the Arts.

Why Invest

Vision, Persistence and Generosity

The Patricia Center for the Arts is coming to life through the collaborative efforts and passionate commitment of an already strong public/private partnership.

On July 17, 2018, the Beaverton Arts Foundation announced a gift of $13 million dollars to the project. With this exciting news also came the official name of the facility, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts.

This transformative pledge made possible by Pat Reser, through the Reser Family Foundation, is an investment that provides nearly one-third of the $46 million needed to build the Center. Another $21.9 million is coming from public sources, including a land donation and a new City Transient Lodging Tax (TLT). In total, 80% of the project costs has already been identified through public and private philanthropic investment.

The balance of the project funds needed is being secured through private fundraising sources, including individuals, foundations and businesses. We need your help to close the remaining gap.

"It’s been both a personal dream and a community-driven vision to have a dedicated home for arts and culture in Beaverton – a stage for inspiration and creativity to shine, a place for residents and visitors to feel connected. It will be our city’s jewel."

- Mayor Denny Doyle, City of Beaverton

"Beaverton is an international community. A Center for the Arts gives us a sacred space to learn about our different cultures, to feed our souls, to widen our perspective. It provides an opportunity to be educated, entertained and informed, offering a richness that far exceeds our daily routine."

"As a large employer in the Washington County area, Nike’s overall footprint provides opportunities for business-related visits to the area drawing from a global environment. The addition of a regional performing arts center in Beaverton will serve to enhance the art, culture and tourism options available to our business travelers as well as employees, community residents and visitors."

"We know that arts impact communities in deep, meaningful and measurable ways. Arts of all types help to educate, entertain, bring together neighbors, newcomers and tourists, and ultimately celebrate the immense and beautiful assets of our diverse and culturally rich community."

- Lorraine Clarno, President/CEO, Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce

"The Center will bring the greater Beaverton community together to celebrate the arts, encourage and support diversity, provide opportunities for cultural exchanges, offer events that educate and have a positive impact on the community."

- Stephen Ronshaugen Galván, Artistic Director, ISing Choir

"It’s a game changer. A much-needed and beautifully-designed space. At 550 seats, the Center will hit the sweet spot as an intimate space for many arts groups, and in my experience, become a catalyst to spur business growth in the area. I applaud the City of Beaverton for investing in the future of the arts and the regional economy in a big way."

- David Machado, Portland chef and restaurateur

"The [Center] is a welcome addition to the portfolio of arts and culture facilities in the region. It has ability to shape the future of the arts on the west side and appears positioned to become a premiere destination. I’m excited by the potential."

- Scott Showalter, President and CEO, Oregon Symphony

Partners

Bringing the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts to life is truly a team effort, supported by the City of Beaverton, Beaverton Arts Foundation, Beaverton Arts Commission, Beaverton Chamber of Commerce, Regional Arts & Culture Council, Tualatin Valley Visitors Association and Tualatin Valley Creates. Visit the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts page on the City of Beaverton’s website to learn more about this project.

Give Now

Join us in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the character of our community and region. To experience the power of the arts in the heart of the city. To develop a beautiful gathering place that invites and evokes our best selves. To construct a space where we are all welcome and the human desire to create is celebrated.

Public and private investors are leading the way to have already brought us to 80% of our project goal. Now we need you to make this vision come to life.

Contribute to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts fund by donating now to the Beaverton Arts Foundation.

Beaverton Arts Foundation is serving as the nonprofit fundraising partner to close the remaining gap. We are a fundraising and arts-focused 501(c)(3) organization with a 20-year history of raising funds to benefit arts organizations, arts projects and scholarships for budding artists in Beaverton. Whether it’s deeply personal or community-wide, we believe in the power of the arts to inspire, communicate, enlighten and heal.